The Relationship Between Board Certification and Disciplinary Actions Against Board-Eligible Family Physicians

Purpose: Lack of specialty board certification has been reported as a significant physician-level predictor of receiving a disciplinary action from a state medical board. This study investigated the association between family physicians receiving a disciplinary action from a state medical board and certification by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM). Method: Three datasets were merged and a series of logistic regressions were conducted examining the relationship between certification status and disciplinary actions when adjusting for covariates. Data were available from 1976 to 2017. Predictor variables were gender, age, medical training degree type, medical school location, and the severity of the action. Results: Of the family physicians in this sample, 95% (114,454/120,443) had never received any disciplinary action. Having ever been certified was associated with a reduced likelihood of ever receiving an action (odds ratio [OR] = 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.30, 0.40; P < .001), and having held a prior but not current certification at the time of the action was associated with an increase in receiving the most severe type of action (OR = 3.71; 95% CI = 2.24, 6.13; P < .001). Conclusions: Disciplinary actions are uncommon events. Family physicians who had ever been ABFM certified were less likely to receive an action. The most severe actions were associated with decreased odds of being board certified at the time of the action. Receiving the most severe action type increased the likelihood of physicians holding a prior but not current certification.